Gadgets and Sidebars

The new Vista Gadget and Sidebar technologies bundled with Microsoft Windows Vista are available to third party developers to build Gadget and Sidebar offering of their own.

One of the strengths of this desktop based interface technology is that it avails Website owners and promoters of a way to give users a persistent snapshot view of important aspects of the content in their sites.

Developers all around the world have been steadily cranking out Gadgets and Sidebars of all shapes, sizes (generally compact) and descriptions. Enough, in fact, so that the Microsoft Gadget gallery is now bursting at the seams with gadgets for just about any occasion and application.

There are gadgets to assist the user with everyday operating system and application usage (one recent offering allows remote control of other windows machines via RDP), gadgets offered as replacements for enhance existing utilities and accessories like calculators, and even some very interesting specialist gadgets for applications you may not have heard of or considered.

However, the gadgets which are of interest in this blog entry are those which link to portals and Websites, providing a preview of pertinent content and a sort of ‘jump gate’ to the Website should the user find themselves interested enough by what the gadget is displaying at any given time.

One prime example of a Website centric functional Sidebar/Gadgets combination is the eBay Sidebar tool. Avid eBay users should find this tool a significant boon to their eBay usage. It allows viewing of auction watch lists and other critical information without the need to open a browser and log into the eBay site.

A favorite on the technology Web promotional front the NASA image of the day gadget, and there are other more commercial offerings available which can spruce up your desktop.

Sidebars and gadgets offer an excellent compromise solution for retaining content visibility on the desktop without the need for channels and open browsers. Information is persistently visible (unless obscured by application windows) and updated automatically when on line. That’s very powerful information delivery.